Ryan Mathews is the boxer after Round 10, left eye swollen, right wrist broken, nose bloodied, sitting in the Red Corner black and blue.

The bell rings. The medic leaves. Mathews stands.

His gloves are raised to swing again.

Say this about the Chargers running back: After a season that went all wrong, that began and ended with surgery, that bolted 12 metal screws to his shoulders, six to the right and six to the left, he still believes he can win his fight.

He still believes, Mathews recently said in his first public comments since breaking a second clavicle in four months, he can help the Chargers win. He still believes he'll become a top running back.

A No. 12 draft choice whom San Diego traded up 16 spots to select in 2010, he still believes he can prove his team right after all.

"It’s time for me to show them why they bumped up all the spots they did to draft me," Mathews, 25, said. "I’ve shown greatness at times, and I’ve shown I can be the worst player at times. You’ve got to be consistent, and that’s what I plan to do, Just be a little more consistent player and just be the guy they knew when they drafted."

If his three seasons have been 10 turns of a 12-round fight, by now, some are tempted to call it.

Within the organization, while faith remains Mathews can have a good career, there is some doubt he'll become the player that was envisioned three years ago.

He's yet to seize a full-time role. He's made strides, but he must further refine the technical aspects of the position, be less a brawler and more a boxer in the ring, showing the polish that'll make him reliable on a down-to-down basis.

Running back Ronnie Brown was the crisper receiver last season.

As well as wanting to keep Mathews fresh, the strength in that receiving role is what kept Brown often on the field in the two-minute and third-down offenses.

Brown ran a route on 60.4 percent of his offensive snaps. Mathews: 42.1.

The offseason is about making gains, about showing up to April's voluntary workouts in better form than the December before, about building on that improvement throughout OTAs and minicamp and into training camp.

Mathews has plans.

He's spoken to different trainers, coaches and players. He'll be applying their advice while working out in San Diego.

Asked for specifics, he politely declines with the same quiet confidence he carried in the 2012 offseason when he had all the world's momentum.

"Ya'll see," Mathews said. "Ya'll see."

When Mathews says the word "clavicle," his frustration hangs off the final syllable.

The two bone breaks happened the same way, an opposing linebacker slamming atop his body after he'd been tackled.

He called it "bad luck" and a "freak thing."

"I came into this season missing two games with my right broken clavicle," Mathews said. "I left the season missing two games with a left broken clavicle. They say bad things come in threes. Hopefully, all mine are done. All mine are done, and I'll be good.

"If not, I'm just going to keep taking my punches and keep working and doing what I need to do to better myself."